The last 20 captains for Tottenham Hotspur

First, shout out to Alf Ramsey, the English football icon who captained Spurs for a season before Blanchflower. A defensive midfielder, the Northern Irishman had joined the team in the 1954-55 season. The next year, Tottenham named him captain to replace Ramsey, but it didn’t take…this time.

After Branchflower spent a season as captain, his midfield compatriot Marchi took over. He had been with the team since 1949, and he took over as captain for the 1956-57 season. However, he would leave for Juventus after that year, but after a brief stint in Italy returned to Spurs in 1959, retiring there.

Ryden was known for defensive stoutness, but not for sticking around long. In his career he played for seven teams, but none for more than 83 appearances. With Tottenham, he only saw action in 63 league games, but still got to be the captain during the 1957-58 season.

If we go back to Ramsey, Tottenham Hotspur had five one-and-done captains in a row. Smith is the last of those. The season prior, when Ryden was captain, Smith led the First Division (then the top level in English football) in goals. For that, he was rewarded with the captaincy. Though he would stick around until 1964, and total 208 goals for Spurs in all competitions, Smith was only the captain that one year.

All that time searching for a captain, and Spurs went back to, well, square two. This time, though, it stuck. Blanchflower was captain from the 1959-60 season through 1963-64, when he effectively retired (he played three games for a South African team in 1965). Times have changed, but in 2009 the London Times named Blanchflower the best player in Spurs history.

Hey, remember when footballers would play the position of sweeper? Mackay did that some, as well as playing left back. After a successful run in his native Scotland, Mackay moved to London to play for Spurs. He was the captain from 1964 until 1968 when he left for Derby County. Later, Mackay would spend many years managing in the Middle East before that was trendy.

Mullery made over 300 league appearances with Spurs between two lengthy runs with Fulham. The man is a London football legend. He even managed at Crystal Palace and QPR! Mullery, a midfielder, was captain from 1968 into 1972, before he went back to Fulham.

Peters, a member of the 1966 World Cup team for England, is more of a West Ham legend. There, he appeared in 302 league games, scoring 81 goals from midfield, and played all 11 positions at one time or another. Yes, even keeper, as he once had to step in for Brian Rhodes when Rhodes was injured. Due to his success as a Hammer, when Peters moved to Spurs in 1970 he earned a then-record transfer fee of 200,000 pounds. Times have changed. The midfielder took over as captain in 1972 and held that role until 1975 when he left for Norwich, where he played another 207 league games.

Spurs got a nice run of captain lasting four or five seasons, but Perryman kicked things up a notch. Perryman, a midfielder who became a defender when his legs got some miles on them, played 17 seasons with Tottenham. All in all he played in 655 league games, and 866 games total. Perryman was captain from 1975 through 1986, before moving to Brentford. There, he got a promotion, as he was player-manager from 1987 until he retired in 1990.

Spurs struggled to replace Perryman at captain. Clemence was a notable choice, in that he was Tottenham’s keeper. He was also only captain in 1986, not even lasting a full season. Clemence was at the end of his career, having played for over 20 seasons. And yet, he didn’t retire because of age. Clemence tore his Achilles tendon at the start of the 1987 season and would end up retiring, later managing Spurs for a few seasons.

Gough was only captain in 1987, and his time in England was a blip. He was barely with Spurs for over a year. A Scottish international, Gough had started his career with Dundee, and then after a year in England went back to Scotland to spent a decade with Rangers. What’s surprising is that he got any chance to be captain.

Mabbutt was the real heir apparent to Perryman. He was named captain in 1987 and had that role until the end of the 1997-98 season, when he retired. A stout defender, Mabbutt made 477 league appearances with Spurs, taking them into the Premier League era. Notably, in 1993, Mabbutt became the first player to wear a protective mask on the pitch after suffering an eye injury.

Is Sol Campbell an apostate? A heretic? You know what we mean. Campbell, a high-level centre back who got 73 caps with England, played for Spurs from 1992 through the 2000-01 season. He was captain from 1998-99 until he left the team. The thing is, Campbell left Tottenham for Arsenal, the hated rivals of Spurs. To rub salt into the wounds of Spurs fans further, Campbell was a key member of the “Invincibles” Arsenal squad that won the Premier League without a loss.

Sheringham was well into his career by the time Spurs named him captain, but the thing is the striker played so long we can’t say he was at the tail end of his career. For the sake of reference, Sheringham won the Golden Boot during the inaugural Premier League season, and he was already a decade into his career. He was named captain during his second run with Spurs, serving in the role in both of his seasons back with the club. Sheringham remains the oldest outfield player to take the pitch in the Premier League, doing so a few months before turning 41.

Redknapp had been quite successful at Liverpool, where he served as captain. His last couple years there, though, injuries largely kept the midfielder off the field. That led to the Reds moving on and Redknapp moving to Spurs, where he was named captain even though he had issues staying on the field once more. He was only captain for a season and some change, transferring to Southampton during the 2004-05 season, only to retire at the age of 31 after the season ended due to his recurring injury issues.

King was an easy choice to replace Redknapp, as the centre back had been with Spurs since 1998 and would be a one-club man, never leaving North London, retiring with the club in 2012. He retired as captain as well, having the role from the time Redknapp left until he hung up his cleats. Unfortunately, King also started to suffer with chronic knee issues, and would not practice or train during the week so he would feel good enough to play when the games counted. This, in a way, only bolstered King’s Spurs legacy.

With King’s injury issues, Spurs probably had the ability to think about who would replace him as captain, and the club didn’t look far. Tottenham just turned to Dawson, King’s fellow centre back. Dawson had the armband for two seasons, but then he decided to leave for Hull City, even as the club yo-yo’ed between the Premier League and the Championship.

Kaboul spent a season with Spurs before he moved to Portsmouth to get more playing time. That boosted the Frenchman’s resume, so much so Spurs brought him back. The succession plan remained the same, with the outgoing captain passing the armband to his centre back partner. It was a brief run, though, as Kaboul left after the 2014-15 season for Sunderland.

If centre back is a good position for captain, why not move even further back into your own side of the field? Lloris, Tottenham (and France)’s number-one keeper, became the captain. This time, his run as captain, and with the team, would prove long. Time comes even for goalies, though. Lloris was subbed out of a 6-1 drubbing in April 2023, and that would prove his last appearance with the club. By that point, he had made 361 appearances in the Premier League and 447 overall for Spurs.

Lloris, and Harry Kane, were on their way out, which left Spurs without two of their longtime lodestones. Who to name captain, then? Well, how about the clearly best player on the club? Son, the only Asian member of the Premier League Century Club (100 goals or more), was the obvious choice, and he’s remained one of the best players in the league in his new role. Son may not be a long-term captain (he turns 32 in July), but he has a chance to bolster his resume as a club legend.